


Gravity

by serenemelody



Category: DCU, Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort, Drama, F/M, Hurt, cheshire - Freeform, future of the team, red arrow - Freeform, spitfite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-11-29 21:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/691627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenemelody/pseuds/serenemelody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written before we had any idea who would Rise, Fall, and Die; Gravity is about Wally's rise to the title of the Flash and Artemis feeling as though the path of superheroes isn't where she was meant to be. In this AU of sorts, who will Rise, Fall, and Die when there's so much more on the line. Mostly centered around the old team and their future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And So We Fell

Gravity  
Characters: Wally, Artemis (SPITFIRE)  
Chapters: TBA  
Word Count: 1,694

~ And so, we fell ~

“Have you ever had that feeling—when you feel like you can’t run away?” She asked, her eyes narrowing in thought.  
“Honey,” the ginger began, placing both his arms behind his head. “Look who you’re talking to. The fastest man alive, here?” A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Still, despite his response, an unwelcomed tension still lingered in the air. 

Lately, things just didn’t seem the same. Ever since he became the Flash, he noticed how Artemis became more and more reluctant to be around him. She became reclusive. Of course, becoming a superhero was a hard gig—having to join the League and constantly quell whatever havoc arose—but it was even tougher knowing that he was gradually losing Artemis in the process

Wally was constantly trying to make ample time to be with her. He took her out to dinner; he took her to meet his family; he took her to the movies; he listened to her; he loved her, and he did all the things necessary for a normal relationship. 

But this wasn’t a normal relationship. They were both heroes and, sometimes, things had to give. Wally often wondered how Uncle Barry managed to keep it all together... He furrowed his brow in thought and let the silence consume them both for a moment before breaking it. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” she snapped. Wally pursed his lips, taken aback by her brash response. He watched as she seemed to struggle with her thoughts. She ran her hands through her long blonde hair, sighing along the way as he took her into his arms. To his surprise, she stiffened in his grasp unable to relax into his embrace like she had done numerous times before. 

Something was definitely wrong.

“Artemis, really?” He responded, trying his best not to sound entirely hurt. He released her from his grasp and softly shook his head. “Who are you?” He remembered asking the same thing when he first laid his eyes on her, but back then it was in an entirely different context. “You’ve been acting so odd lately and I just can’t keep up with all of these cryptic questions.” He gingerly took her face in his hands and brought hers close to his. “Help me understand what I can do to help.”

For a brief moment, he felt his heart skip a beat as her warm eyes locked onto his. Having her so close to him, in this quiet, intimate moment (no matter how short it may have been) reminded him why he needed her so much—why he loved her so much. But it all shattered in a moment’s notice.

“I just—I think I need some time to myself. Alone.” Her voice was hoarse as her eyes began to water. Her gaze left his as she seemingly searched for a sign of reassurance off in the distance. She slowly pulled away from the speedster before her, avoiding direct eye contact. Artemis couldn’t stop the tears from streaming as she took his hands in hers. “I just can’t do this anymore. I’m so sorry.” 

Wally blinked his eyes repeatedly, hoping—wishing really—that maybe she didn’t mean it, that maybe she wasn’t leaving him. He couldn’t help his chest from tightening at the thought of losing her; it all just seemed surreal. He noted how she eagerly anticipated a response, but he couldn’t muster one, especially now. He clenched his jaw and removed his hands from hers. So this was it. This was the end. 

“I hope you’ll find the answers you’re looking for. Until then, don’t come back.”

He noted how she quickly pushed herself away and closed her eyes tightly. Her attempt to compose herself was slowly backfiring against her and she knew it. His ice cold words had hurt her more than he had anticipated; but then again, he never anticipated the end of their relationship.

He watched Artemis for a moment, waiting for some sort of response; however, what could he expect? A goodbye? No. Clearly, they weren’t the type to say goodbye and move on with their lives.

But he was wrong.

Artemis opened her eyes and, for a fleeting moment, he could see the world in her deep, brown eyes. “Goodbye, Wally.” 

//\\\//\\\

Clothes littered the scene. Socks, shorts, shirts, you name it and it was there all over the floor. Had it been anyone else entering the room they might have been surprised, but Wally was no stranger to this living space. And who was he to judge? This was his best friend’s apartment after all.

“Hey Rob?” Wally called, maneuvering about the living space. “I’m assuming you’re home since there’s a—” 

At that moment in time, a statuesque blonde woman appeared in the doorway leading into the apartment’s only bedroom. Wally wasn’t surprised in the slightest; in all honestly it was a common occurrence nowadays. Dick Grayson, former Robin and current Nightwing, was known to be quite the playboy.

The blonde continued to ignore Wally’s presence and only smiled at the figure in the bedroom. “I thought you said he wasn’t coming until two.” She said, her Russian accent hanging on every word. She sighed and ruffled her hair; she gave Wally a brief glance before averting all of her attention to Grayson. “I’ll see you around.” And with that she left the apartment.

Wally attempted to stifle the laughter building in his chest. “Seriously?” He joked as soon as Grayson joined his friend in the living area. “Russian accent and all! Ballerina?”

“Only the best.” Dick laughed before eying the large plastic bag in Wally’s hands. Today was Wing Wednesday, and both men seemed starving (granted Wally always ate). It wasn’t long before the two guys set up before the flat-screen tv on the couch with three plates full of wings on the coffee table before them.

This kind of thing was a blessing for Wally. After taking up the mantle as the Flash and losing Artemis, he was in desperate need of unwinding every once in a while with his best friend. Upon turning on the television, Gordon Godfrey’s face filled the screen, filling the air with Anti-Justice League propaganda. Wally immediately winced at the sound of the journalist’s voice, annoyed by his constant spew of lies. 

“Ugh, I can’t stand this guy,” Grayson said in between bites of wings. 

“How can people even believe him? I know Uncle Ba—” but before he could finish his thought, the damage had been done.

“So how’s it feel?” Dick asked, leaning back into the couch. “You know, being a member of the Justice League and all!” A smile crossed the brunette’s face for a moment before he noticed Wally’s expression.

To be honest,” the ginger began, “it feels totally undeserved.” He nervously began to play with the hair on the back of his head before continuing his train of thought. “I’m not the Flash. Barry Allen was. Not me.” It was quite apparent that this wasn’t the answer Dick wanted to hear. “C’mon Rob,” Wally retorted before his comrade even had the opportunity to speak (after all, he was the fastest man alive now). “You can’t expect me to take this whole situation with a smile and act as though life goes on.”

“No, I don’t.” Grayson quickly responded much to Wally’s surprise. “But you know who does? The public, the people, the kids who look to the Flash and what he does. Not who he is.”

“You know,” Wally rebutted. “You sure do know how to give the occasional motivational piece of insight,” he laughed.  
Grayson merely rolled his eyes before responding. “It’s all in a day’s work my friend.”

~*~

As the day progressed, reality began to settle in once again. Wally couldn’t be a normal person; that dream was long gone. He was the Flash now and a member of the Justice League. Five years ago, he would have been ecstatic to join the league alongside his uncle and the greatest heroes. However, the situation has now changed into something Wally couldn’t seem to accept.

He was the fastest man alive, a league member with newfound responsibilities. However, seeing himself in the Flash uniform seemed wrong. Wally didn’t see himself as the Flash; he could only see his predecessor, his role model.

Dick, on the other hand, rose to become the new leader of the Team after Kaldur stepped down. But, he was no longer Robin; that title was instead handed down to another Batman protégé (a kid who managed to decipher the true identity of Batman and Robin before he could tie his shoes). Now Grayson was Nightwing, a name given to him by the Blue Boy Scout*. Although Nightwing was the new leader of the Team and Wally was now the Flash, they always managed to find time to patrol together.

It didn’t come as a surprise for Wally to find Nightwing in a very typical “patrol” spot. 

“You know,” Wally began, peering over the edge of the building they were perched on. “You bat-folk sure love perching from the highest building you can find.” He took a deep breath before taking a seat beside Nightwing. “So what’s the story morning glory?” 

“I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but there’s a new member working with the Light.” Grayson mentioned whilst projecting data files from his gauntlet. “Apparently, she’s called Tigress and usually seen on her own.”

“Freelance?” Wally asked, observing the surveillance tapes of the criminal that played on the file. This “Tigress” was clearly experienced, you could see it in the way she approached a situation in combat. Hardened by years of successes and failures, she was quick and dangerous.

“Most likely,” Nightwing began, freezing the screen before them and enhancing the image. “At least for now.” Before them was a nimble woman, clearly experienced, masked, and dangerous. “Lately, she’s been seen in Star City keeping a low key. But there’s someone there, in the city, that the Light may want to keep quiet.”

“Why’s this important?” Wally asked, placing his hands behind his head.

“Because she’s currently targeting Roy.”


	2. Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leave it to her to confront her ex in the most difficult manner... Artemis struggles to keep her composure and her newly adopted persona in front of someone she once knew.

GOTHAM CITY 11:30 PM

The phone glowed in the dark as another message appeared on the screen. It happened around the same time every night—usually when Wally began his newly acquired night patrols. Why he decided to patrol at night was beyond her; it wasn’t usually his scene. That belonged more-so to the Bat family, the Arrows…

She stared at the message as she usually did. She did her best not to care anymore but it consistently got harder with each passing day. In all honesty, she stopped reading the messages hoping it would somehow help. It never did. 

Another flash of her phone lit up the room indicating another message. She rolled over in her bed hoping it wasn’t Wally again. She released a groan and she picked up her phone and read the message. It wasn’t Wally. It was worse.

It was family.

_Artemis_ , it read, _its go time_. 

//\\\//\\\

Star City had a certain charm about it sometimes. Maybe it was the way that the skyline seemed to twinkle in the night, concealing the city’s innermost secrets. Maybe it was the fact that this was where she was taken in as a “sidekick.” Either way, tonight, Star City charmed her under the glow of the moon.

The slight wind chill kissed her skin as she moved from rooftop to rooftop looking for the person who summoned her presence. As unprepared as it may sound, Artemis (or rather Tigress, for that matter) was unaware of why Cheshire required her help. What was it that needed to be done? Every time she asked about it, Cheshire would just divert the conversation or just say that it was strictly “Light-Confidential.” 

More stars began to light up the night’s sky when she finally spotted familiar, unruly black hair. “It’s about time you showed up,” the familiar silhouette called. “I was beginning to worry that little, baby kitty got lost.” Even in the shadows of the night, her snide remarks managed to get under Tigress’s skin.

“So what’s the plan?” Tigress asked, securing her position beside Cheshire on the rooftop.

“I like to play things by ear,” she replied. Tigress could see the grin forming underneath the painted mask’s smile. Cheshire always proved to be the more mischievous member of the family at times, much to Tigress’s chagrin.

“Perfect.”

~*~

Taking out the security system wasn’t a hassle. In fact, it was the least of their troubles. Five years ago, this HQ of sorts was like a second home to Artemis. Ollie McQueen was never a big fan of change—it wasn’t much of a surprise to see that the password remained the same. Only three people were aware of the code and Artemis was one of them.

Surely, standing here again sent a pang of remorse through her being. She never fully anticipated breaking and entering her former sanctuary. High tech arrows and bows decorated the walls surrounding her, suffocating her really.

She hated it. 

She especially hated seeing her old bow, back when she was a hero. Back when she was Artemis—young, naïve, happy… 

Artemis wasn’t here infiltrating the Green Arrow’s HQ; Artemis wasn’t here with intent to capture Red Arrow; Artemis wasn’t here, working in tandem with Cheshire.

This was Tigress. Tigress was here. Tigress was here dodging Red Arrow’s relentless stream of arrows. Tigress was the villain, not Artemis. 

Even after being out of the game for so long, missions like these reminded Tigress why she loved it so much. The adrenaline coursed through her veins, pulsing with every jump, every punch, every maneuver she made. Sure her execution was rough around the edges, but it was worth it.

That is, until a familiar red menace happened to enter the scene.

_Wally?_

Tigress was so caught off balance, off guard, that she didn’t notice Red Arrow’s arrow headed straight for her shoulder. It stung, but not as badly as the sting she felt when she saw Wally—or rather, the Flash—appear to the scene. To add insult to injury, it was none other than Nightwing standing by the speedster’s side. Perfect.

This was going to be a long, hard night.

“Three against one? Now that’s not fair, now is it boys?” Cheshire called from the shadows. “Let’s try to even up the odds.” Finally, it was about time she entered the HQ. She previously told Tigress to meet her at the Arrow’s HQ since she had some “matters to attend to” before she could join the fray. Fair enough, it gave Tigress enough time to herself to bypass security systems and the like. It also gave her some time alone to try and put the past behind her before Red Arrow came along. 

Now she and Cheshire were pitted against the fastest man alive (currently), the Batman’s first-boy-wonder-gone-solo, and the real Roy Harper’s clone. Great. Cheshire immediately went after Nightwing; if anyone here was the real threat to their success, it was definitely him.

Tigress continued to go against Red Arrow and attempted to avoid the Flash at all costs. Her chest tightened as she continued to dodge Arrow’s, well, arrows knowing that the Flash was there watching her every move. 

She half expected this to happen one day when she decided to become Tigress, but she was not prepared to handle herself in this situation. Her fault, poor planning. Did his presence inspire Tigress to work harder? She wasn’t entirely sure; what she did know, was that he was a nuisance to her work—especially when he sped up behind her and knocked her in the back.

Flashes of red dashed around her, yet she stood at the ready anticipating the inevitable moment when they would make contact once more. A sharp pain rose through her back and spread to her left shoulder. Perfect.

“Oh, that had to hurt, huh?” The speedster taunted as he skidded to a halt across the floor. 

Tigress growled and did everything in her power to try not to say a word. The last thing she wanted was the Flash recognizing her voice or who she was. Wally was a smart boy, sometimes too smart, so it wouldn’t be too hard for him to identify her voice and put two-and-two together.

What?” He laughed, making his way towards her. “Cat got your tongue, Tigress?”

Before he could begin his maneuver, she came after him with a preemptive strike. First, she found a connection to his chest, a blow to his shoulder, and soon impact with his face. For a moment, the Artemis underneath the mask was satisfied to finally get back at Wally since their last encounter; however, this celebration was short lived. A thin stream of red tricked from his exposed, freckled nose. Without a second thought she opened her mouth.

Big mistake.

“I’m sorry Wal—” she quickly grabbed for her mouth at an attempt to bring back the words that had escaped, but it was too late. The damage had already been done. The expression that arose on the Flash’s masked face mirrored hers. Both were faces contorted by shock, awe, disappointment, confusion…

If you could name it, it was probably written all over the speedster’s face for that small piece in time. It lasted mere seconds, but the force of gravity pulled them deeper into the earth, deeper into this newfound information.

Tigress could feel herself falling into the ground until Nightwing’s return pulled her back to reality—as did the Flash. The sound of Nightwing’s voice cleared Tigress’s mind, if only for a moment, to remind her of the situation she was currently in. She broke into Green Arrow’s warehouse to help Cheshire, and now here she was (by herself, mind you) with the Flash and Nightwing.

“Flash,” he called. “You take Tigress, I’ll pursue Cheshire. She has red.” From the corner of her eye, she could see the Flash take a while to respond. All she could pick up from his mouth was: “Yeah, right… Tigress… I…”

It was so obvious that Cheshire had already departed with Red Arrow, so as far as Tigress was concerned—she played her part. She truly had no reason to stay and duke it out with the fastest man alive. After her slip up, this was the last place she wanted to be right now.

She fumbled for her smoke bomb in her utility pouch. When she felt its spherical shape, a flash of red began to make its way toward her once more. She could feel the anxiety build in her chest as she threw the small device as hard as she could to the ground. She could faintly see the freckles on the Flash’s face before she was engulfed in smoke. Tigress could hear his shoes skid on the floor.

Before he had time to recover his balance, she was as far away from the warehouse as possible. As she sprinted full speed ahead, climbing rooftops, avoiding lightened windows, the cool air felt sharp against her skin—misted from sweat and nerves.

That’s when it hit her, hard, in the silence of the city’s night: Artemis Crock was still in love with Wally West.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes:
> 
> * Blue Boy Scout = Superman.


End file.
